Digimon: Seasoned Tamers
by KingPhoenix666
Summary: Since the end of the D-Reaper, life went on as normal as could be, but that all changed when HYPNOS recorded an unusual reading.
1. Prologue

_'_ _Even though I thought I would never be the same, the world soon went back to normal and after a while so did I. Life became exactly as it was before I met Guilmon. Kazu still made bad jokes and Miss Nami still gave too much homework.'_

He ran through the park, past the once regularly used stone steps. He stopped and listened when he thought he heard a small giggling.

 _'_ _Sometimes I go by our old hangouts just to see if he's there. Don't know why I bother, because he's never there. Most times I'm OK but there's this one thing that bugs me: a promise I made to a friend—a promise I don't think I can keep.'_

He turned around and looked at the top of the steps, at the stone room that once housed a red dinosaur called Guilmon. He looked inside and saw a ball of light in a dugout extension. Small shapes pulsed within the light. He couldn't believe his eyes.

 _'_ _Actually, scratch that! I think I'm going to keep that promise after all!'_

He was speechless. He reached to his head to pull down his goggles, but only grabbed light brown hair. The one day he didn't wear his goggles since the separation.

Trying not to take his eyes off the light, he pulled off his backpack. He tried to find his cell-phone but had to quickly turn his gaze away when he couldn't find it. Pulling his phone out, he looked again and found the light had disappeared.

His face dropped as he realised he had let the opportunity that he wanted for months slip him by. He turned around, put his backpack back on, and walked away, feeling disappointed with himself for getting his hopes up. He walked back down the stone steps, heading for home.

He knew he was wide awake for the experience, but when he woke the next morning, he dismissed it as a dream.

He walked over to his desk and opened the top draw. He pulled out a digital object and looked at it. He couldn't help but wonder; what did the light mean? Would his friends come back?

Despite what he had been doing for months, he left the object in the drawer and put on his usual clothes and made his way to school.

He stopped by the playground near the school and saw his oldest friends, Kazu Shioda, Kenta Kitagawa, along with his first crush, Jeri Katou.

He told them about the 'dream', adding in the part where he was sure he was awake. Kazu and Kenta instantly dismissed him and walked to school, leaving him there alone with Jeri.

She believed him, simply because she wanted to see their friends again. But she did tell him that he was stupid for telling them first before consulting his more rational friends, Rika Nonaka and Henry Wong. They would have told him whether it was worth telling or just waiting until a later point in time.

So the day carried on for young Takato Matsuki; school life, homework, helping in his parents bakery and occasionally hanging out with his friends. He quickly forgot about seeing the ball of light the day before.

Soon, the months passed by and life went on. But that all changed when the now known government operation, known as HYPNOS, recorded an unusual reading…


	2. Life Goes On

"Takato!" called a woman's voice. "Takato! Wake up!"

He pulled the covers over his head and moaned.

"Takato!" the voice sounded harsher now.

He threw the covers off himself and moaned louder. "I'm awake!" he called back.

He turned onto his side and closed his eyes tightly. He opened his eyes again and widened them. He pushed himself off the bed and ruffled his already messy hair. He looked at the calendar, realising the date; March 31.

It was now the third year anniversary of their bitter-sweet victory against the D-Reaper. They were happy that they had defeated the rogue computer program that had decided that both Digimon and humanity had evolved beyond what they should have and tried to wipe them out.

Also, he was going to be late for school.

He jumped up and raced to the bathroom to brush his teeth and have a shower. Once he was dried, he quickly put on his school uniform; a white shirt with a navy blue tie, a green blazer and grey trousers.

He rushed downstairs and looked at himself in the mirror. He smoothed his hair down, to no avail. He needed his hair cutting again, but he just couldn't get around to making an appointment. He looked at the small growing moustache that was starting to become more prominent. He smirked, seeing yet again how it suited him.

He grabbed two pieces of day-old bread, putting one in his mouth after saying a rushed 'goodbye' to his parents before running the fifteen minutes to his school, being grateful for the extra workouts he was taking part in with Henry and Ryo Akiyama.

He raced into the building with five minutes to spare. He found his locker and pushed his coat into it while getting the necessary books.

The day dragged on for Takato. He was glad for the lunch period. He reached into his bag and pulled out his lunchbox. He always forgot his lunch, so his mother just started to put it in his bag. Besides, if she forgot, then he knew that his dad would at least put in a sandwich.

He made his way to the lunch-hall and sat down with Kazu and Kenta.

Kenta had grown within the past three years so he was now six inches taller than both Kazu and Takato, who were the same height. A year ago, Kenta began wearing contact lenses purely out of curiosity, but after a month's trial, he carried on with the contacts. He was also six months into wearing braces.

Kazu, on the other hand, hadn't changed that much, the only real differences was that he dyed his hair and light blue colour and he got his ear pierced.

"Are we still meeting up tonight?" Kazu asked, flicking his hair out of his eyes.

"Of course we are." Takato scoffed. "It's the anniversary."

"Why do you want to know?" Kenta asked. "Got somewhere special to be?"

"Of course not." Kazu instantly replied. "I'd never schedule two things on one day!"

Takato just looked at his best friend. "Who is she?"

Kazu looked back, shocked. "What do you mean?"

Takato pointed a finger at Kazu whilst Kenta glared at him. "Kazu, we know you pretty well. You're dodging a question which can only mean that you didn't realise what today was."

Kazu sighed. "Fine, I admit it." He looked Takato in the eyes. "Yumi asked me out."

Takato and Kenta sat back. "She actually asked you out?"

Kazu smiled. "Yep. But she can only make tonight. That's why I need a pass on tonight."

Kenta spoke up. "Well, the only person who might actually be angry, would be Rika."

Takato took a bite of his sandwich. "Yep. She'd kick your butt."

Kazu agreed and pulled out his cell phone. "I'd better tell her over the phone so she can't yell at me face to face."

There was five minutes of peaceful eating when Takato's phone beeped. He looked at the caller ID and smirked. He turned his phone and showed Kenta. Takato answered the phone. Kazu looked up when his name was mentioned.

Takato handed the phone over to Kazu, who wearily took it. The second Kazu had the phone to his ear, he pushed it away at the torrent of anger coming through the earpiece. Once the anger died down, he put the phone back to his ear.

"I'm sorry, but tonight was the only day she could do." Kazu defended. "Besides, I can still stay for about an hour before I have to go." Kazu rolled his eyes. "Fine. A double Choco-banana smoothie." He gave Takato his phone back.

Takato put the phone to his ear. "Ok Rika, see you tonight."

"So, she's letting you off the hook?" Kenta asked.

"I wouldn't call a double Choco-banana smoothie 'off the hook' Kenta." Takato laughed.

"But it's as close as Rika will let Kazu off the hook." Kenta added.

Kazu dropped his head on the table. "The price of friendship."

That night, at six o'clock, the organisation known as HYPNOS was ready to shut down for the night.

The group of six known as the 'Monster Makers' were just finishing up and saving their work when the enigmatic sixth member, Gorou Mizuno, also known as Shibumi, was shutting down his computer when he noticed a small sprite in the bottom right corner.

He looked at it for ten seconds before the screen went blank. Immediately afterwards, yellow lights began to flash.

"What now?" Daisy, another Monster Maker, sighed. "Did Yamaki run out of lighters?"

The other Monster Makers; Janyu 'Tao' Wong, Rob 'Dolphin' McCoy, Rai 'Curly' Aishwarya and Babel snickered at the comment. Nevertheless, they rushed to the main room and saw Mitsuo Yamaki typing away at a computer while his two trusted secretaries, Tally Onodera and Riley Ohtori, who Yamaki had finally admitted his affection for, were typing away at their own computers in a high chair several metres above the ground.

"What's wrong?" Janyu asked.

"You won't believe this." Riley answered. "But we're picking up a Wild One."

"What?" Shibumi asked, completely thrown off guard with Riley's answer, like the other Monster Makers.

"It's either a Digimon, or our system is acting up and sending us on a wild goose chase." Yamaki grunted.

Shibumi instantly rushed to a vacant computer and typed away. "He's right. Something's trying to Bio-Emerge."

Instantly, the other Monster Makers raced to a computer, except Janyu. He reached for his cell-phone but hesitated. He looked down at the phone, slowly scrolling through his contacts until it settled on his sons name. He took a deep breath before he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"I don't know if I can." Janyu sighed. "I haven't spoken to him in so long."

"It's been three years Janyu." The voice comforted. "He might be willing to talk to you."

Janyu shook his head. "He's doesn't forgive easily Yamaki. He trusted me and I used his partner to hold the Juggernaut Program."

"He forgave that." Yamaki reminded him.

"But the side-effect is the reason he never speaks to me." Janyu argued. "Suzie only answers yes or no questions. Even my wife kicked me out because of it. Terriermon and Lopmon were important to the kids and I sent them away."

"But if a Digimon is going to appear in the real world, he needs to know." Yamaki insisted.

Said boy was sitting on a set of stone steps outside what used to be a meeting place for anything to do with his role as a Tamer.

In the three years that had passed, he had continued his martial arts training and even tutored Takato a little, but both mutually agreed that martial arts wasn't for him. But Henry still tutored Ryo when he had the chance.

Henry had fancied a change and, like Kazu, began to dye his hair, only Henry chose to colour his hair black. He wore only a larger version of his orange bodywarmer, showing off his slightly muscular arms. He wore black tracksuit bottoms and black trainers. As a sign of rebellion against his father, he got his ear pierced with a bar.

He brought his sister Suzie with him, who had stopped wearing pink and started to wear a white t-shirt under a yellow cardigan and a yellow shorts with black pumps.

"Where are the others?" Suzie asked.

"They'll be here Suzie." Henry reassured her. "They'd better be."

"Relax Judo." Inputted a voice. "Some of us have shown up."

Henry and Suzie looked down the steps to see a red-head with short hair wearing a long-sleeved shirt under a short sleeved black shirt with a pink heart. She also wore a pair of skinny jeans and red canvas shoes.

With her was a brown haired boy who looked to be about a year older than her. He wore a red jumper, blocking any view of a t-shirt and light brown trousers with blue trainers.

Henry smiled. "Hey you two."

"Hey." Ryo waved. "How's it going?"

"Anyone else here yet?" Rika asked, walking up the steps to join the Wong siblings.

"Just you two." Henry answered. "Takato's coming with Kazu and Kenta. And I don't know what's going on with Jeri, Ai and Mako."

"We're here." Called a soft voice.

The four present turned to see a girl dressed in a blue dress with matching heels that only just raised her off the ground and standing with her was a younger boy and girl wearing yellow t-shirts but the boy had light blue dungarees whilst the girl had pink dungarees.

"So now we're just waiting for Takato and the goofballs." Rika observed.

"That would be an interesting band." Ryo thought. "I just hope Kazu and Kenta don't perform backing vocals."

"I would have thought that they'd have gotten better as they got older." Rika shuddered. "But I swear they've gotten worse."

Ryo wrapped an arm around her. "Doesn't matter anyway. You'd sing them into the dust."

Rika smiled as she spun around, losing Ryo's arm in the process. "Thanks. But if you put your arm around me again, they get snapped."

Ryo stuck his tongue out. "Whatever you say princess."

"And don't call me that."

Ryo knew Rika was joking because he noticed whenever he called her 'princess', the corner of her mouth would twitch into a small smile.

After making small-talk for fifteen minutes, Henry kicked a nearby tree. "Where are they?" Everyone looked towards him. "The one day we all set aside and they're late." Henry decided to storm away.

"Henry! Wait!" Suzie called.

Henry just carried on walking, ignoring any calls from his friends or sister. As he passed a bush, he curled his fingers and punched the bush.

When Henry was out of sight, Rika turned to Suzie. "What's up with him?"

Suzie shook her head. "I honestly don't know." She looked where he walked away. "I think he's still upset with our dad for sending Terriermon and Lopmon away."

"It's been three years." Ryo sighed. "You'd think he would have forgiven his actions by now."

"It's not that easy to forgive." Jeri spoke up. "The only reason I forgave Impmon so quickly was because I realised that he wasn't himself. The power corrupted him." From the corner of her eye, she saw Ai and Mako shift uncomfortably. Jeri had only just recently told them about Impmon and Leomon when they asked why her D-Power was showing static. "But he used all his strength to free me from the D-Reaper and even took a few attacks to save Calumon."

"I wish he would forgive our dad." Suzie sighed. "Or at least talk to him every now and again. Even our mom has started talking to him again."

"He still doesn't talk to his dad?" Jeri asked.

"One time when we were at the movies, he saw his dad walking towards him and instantly crossed the road." Rika explained.

"That doesn't sound so bad." Jeri voiced her opinion.

"We were going to the shop two buildings away." Rika deadpanned.

"Who was?"

Rika turned her head to see Takato, Kazu and Kenta walking towards them. Rika marched straight to them and grabbed Takato's collar. "Where the hell have you been?"

Takato pushed Rika away from his collar. "Geez Rika, calm down." He said. "My mom asked me to watch the bakery for ten minutes. I only just managed to get away."

"Oh." Rika immediately backed away. "Sorry."

Takato smiled. "No problem." He looked at the gathered group. "Where's Henry?"

"He left." Suzie answered.

"Why?" Kenta asked. "We were meeting up today."

"He got a little miffed that you three were late." Ryo answered.

"And that's putting it kindly." Rika muttered. "I get why Takato was late, but why were you two late?" she asked, eyeing Kazu and Kenta.

Kazu looked Rika right in the eyes. "We were waiting with Takato while his parents came back." He smugly answered.

Rika rubbed her index finger and thumb on her nose. "And in any of the time that you were waiting for Takato, did _either_ of you think to let us know?"

This left Kazu speechless but Kenta lifted his phone. "I sent you a message Rika."

Confused, Rika looked at her phone. "Crap. It's still on silent."

Kazu suddenly smirked at Rika. "So, it's your fault."

Ryo shook his head. "Actually, it's mine." Rika looked at Ryo, a slight hint of worry crossing her face. "I dragged Rika to see a movie."

Kazu and Kenta nodded as a beep drew their attention. Suzie looked at her phone before putting it to her ear. "Hello?"

Everyone watched as Suzie talked, not really paying attention. But their ears perked up when Suzie mentioned 'Digimon'.

She put her phone on speaker so the others could listen. "What was that last part?"

 _"I said that we're picking up a Digital Signal ten blocks away from the park."_ Her dad repeated. _"I just thought that you'd want to know."_

"What's nearby the signal?" Suzie asked. "Coz just saying 'ten blocks away' isn't that much of a help."

She heard her dad ask what was nearby. She didn't hear a reply but her dad immediately repeated. _"Your High School."_

Suzie looked in a direction. "That's where Henry stormed off." She looked around at the others. "Dad, I gotta go." She quickly rushed her dad off the phone. "If that signal is a Digimon…"

"Henry doesn't have Terriermon with him." Rika added.

"He is good at martial arts." Mako reminded them.

"But martial arts aren't so good when a Digimon shoots a fireball or electrocutes you." Ryo explained nervously.

"We've got to warn him." Takato insisted, pulling out his phone.

"He left his phone at home since I brought mine." Suzie sighed.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Kazu asked, starting to run. "Come on. We gotta find Henry."

Henry stopped and looked at the High School. Memories flooded back to when he first heard Takato mention 'Guilmon'. It was a chance meeting that resulted in a long-lasting friendship and several good memories.

And finally, the one bad memory he didn't want to remember; the Juggernaut Program. That one incident changed everything. His mother kicked his dad out and Henry and Suzie spent more time together, trying to fill the void left when their Digimon were forcibly sent back to the Digital World.

He leant against the wall and closed his eyes. He tried to push the memories away but they just came back in full force. He sat on the ground and put his wrists to his eyes. He forced the tears away and looked to the sky.

He stood up, looking around at the sudden change. "When did it get foggy?"

He turned rapidly when the gate he was near suddenly opened. He looked inside the large area. There was nothing there.

"Hello? Is someone there?" no reply.

He walked inside the school grounds, going against every rational bone in his body that was screaming 'Get away!'. He heard several footsteps, surrounding him. He looked behind him, and in every direction. Whatever it was, Henry concluded that there were several things circling him.

He was starting to get weary. He looked back where he had came from, but due to the fog, and that he had spun several times, he lost his bearings.

"Who's there?" he called. "Show yourself!"

He got himself into a ready stance, should he need to defend himself. He heard what he thought was flapping wings, in addition to the running around.

Just as he felt something get close to him, he was hit in his back. He called out in pain, dropping to his knees. Another two hits to his arms, had him laying on the ground.

He made to get up, but three poles pressed into his back. He turned his head to see three women standing over him. All of them had two pairs of wings, golden armour and had a long piece of red fabric wrapped around their necks and head. A shining sword made them seem even more dangerous than the staff they were using to hold Henry down.

"Who are you?" Henry asked.

"Is he one of them?" one of the women asked.

"I don't know." Another answered.

"Who are you?" Henry pressed, trying to keep his emotions in check.

"Quiet human." The third woman snapped before turning to her comrades. "He's not surprised by our appearance. He knows of Digimon."

"A lot of people know about Digimon." Henry strained. "Especially since the D-Reaper."

The three women, Henry was now certain were Digimon, flinched. Granted, he should have realised when he saw that they had wings. He saw an opportunity and quickly grabbed one of the staffs and spun it around, catching the Digimon off guard.

He jumped to his feet, holding the staff in both hands. He looked at the three Digimon, each of which had unsheathed their swords and the two who still had their staffs, put them in holders on their backs.

"This isn't good." Henry said to himself.

The Digimon launched themselves forward, swords aiming right for his chest. He ducked down and leant back, rolling backwards and kicking two away while using the staff to block the third's sword. He pushed against the Digimon's strength, keeping an eye for the other two.

He managed to push her away when the other two rushed towards him again. He was ready to defend when he was suddenly pushed to the floor. He looked up to see Ryo shielding him.

"Give those back!" Henry heard a call.

He looked from under Ryo to see Kazu and Takato holding two swords while Rika and Jeri had somehow claimed the other two staffs as defensive weapons. Kenta was standing close with Suzie, Ai and Mako, standing guard.

"What are these Digimon?" Takato asked.

"They're Darcmon." Ryo answered. "They're Champion Level Holy Digimon."

"Why are they attacking?" Jeri wondered, keeping one away from Rika, who hadn't noticed one trying a sneak attack.

"They were asking whether I was 'one of something'." Henry replied. "I guess they wanted to know if I was a Tamer."

The three Darcmon looked at Henry and Ryo. They suddenly had a murderous look in their eyes. "Tamers!" they screeched.

"Takato! Kazu! Get over here!" Ryo called.

Takato and Kazu ran over to Ryo, swords at the ready. The two unarmed Darcmon pulled their arms back, ready to punch, but never got the chance. Somehow, they had impaled themselves on one sword each, dissolving into data, along with their respective sword and staff, disarming Takato, Kazu, Rika and Jeri.

The remaining Darcmon flew into the air, and began to absorb the data of her fellow Digimon. She opened her eyes, and with a mental command, summoned her sword and staff again.

"We're in trouble." Suzie squeaked.

Everyone watched as Darcmon began to become pixelated. Her image became so distorted that it was all white.

"Is she Digivolving?" Kenta asked.

Darcmon's image cleared up, revealing a different Digimon. It was a white animal that had a horse's body, hooves with claws for its back feet and eagle claws for its forefeet. It had two large feathery wings, which it was using to keep itself airborne and an eagle's head.

"Yep." Kazu gulped. "She Digivolved."

"If she Digivolved, then she's an ultimate level now." Jeri realised.

"There's no way we can beat her without our Digimon." Henry confirmed.

The newly Ultimate-Level Digimon flew around to the back of Kenta and the youngest Tamers before using its large wings to send them flying through the air. Ryo and Henry managed to catch Ai and Suzie while Kazu jumped and caught Mako, whilst Kenta fell beside Takato. In that one move, everyone had been gathered into one large group.

"What do we do now?" Suzie asked her brother.

Henry shook his head. "I don't know."

"Heat Wave!" the Digimon called.

They all saw the red pulse of air come towards them. Everyone tensed and turned away, preparing themselves for the attack.

"Kahuna Waves!"

Kenta looked up at the small, high-pitched voice and saw a small-floating, pink creature with a gold ring around its neck like a collar.

"MarineAngemon?" Kenta asked, stunned.

Once the red pulse of air was stopped with the small blue hearts, the pink creature turned around. "Kenta."

"Tamers!" the beast Digimon roared. Kenta and MarineAngemon turned to face the Digimon, who had now landed a few metres away. "Tamers are pollution!"

"Can you handle him?" Kenta asked his long-lost partner.

"No need." MarineAngemon answered. "Not alone."

"You mean…?" Kenta realised. He looked behind the Digimon and smiled. "We'll be fine."

"How do you know?" Kazu snapped. Then he noticed MarineAngemon on Kenta's shoulder. "Where did he come from?"

"Never mind that." Kenta smiled. "He said he's not alone."

"Meaning?" Kazu pressed.

"There! There!" MarineAngemon pointed and squealed.

Kazu and Kenta looked where the little Mega-Level was pointing. They broke out in huge grins and small laughter. The others thought they were going crazy until they looked as well.

They all stood and smiled, gaining a new sense of confidence.

The beast glared at the humans. "You act confident, but I know that you are all terrified."

Takato laughed. "Yeah, we are terrified." The beast took a step forward, but stopped when Takato held a hand up. "But right now, we're terrified for you."

The beast froze when he heard a growl and turned his gaze behind him. It was not a welcome sight.

Seven angry creatures glared at the white beast.

One was a red dinosaur with a white underbelly and a black hazard symbol on its stomach. Another was a yellow fox on two legs. Two looked like exact rabbit copies; with the main difference being one was cream and green with one horn on its forehead, while the other was brown and pink with three horns on its forehead.

Another was simply a medium sized robot, with a small purple imp-like creature with a red piece of fabric tied around its neck. The last was a last draconic creature with four small red wings with a metal plate covering its eyes.

"Who are you?" the Digimon asked.

The yellow fox stepped forward. "We're the Digimon of Tamers." It lifted an arm and pointed a claw at the beast. "Those tamers. And no-one harms or threatens, our tamers."

As one, the Digimon launched themselves forward. The small rabbit Digimon launched their attacks first. The brown rabbit opened its mouth and shot out several shards of ice whilst the other shot three small green balls of energy at the beasts eyes.

The small purple Digimon leapt into the air with the yellow fox. The yellow fox crossed its arms, then spread them out, creating rocks of light, which instantly, and rapidly, shot straight down, along with six small balls of fire thrown by the imp. The robot raised its arms, sending missiles, aiding in the attack.

The beast screamed in pain and when the smoke settled, it was covered in bruises, cuts, and it could barely open its eyes.

The red dinosaur and the dragon Digimon stepped forward. They separated and one was at the head whilst the other was behind the beast.

The red Digimon inhaled while the other swiped the air, creating green streaks of energy. It gathered the energy into a ball and threw it while the other Digimon exhaled and launched a ball of fire.

The attacks created a force of light that blinded the humans but let them hear screams of pain that died down.

When they could, they uncovered their eyes to see the seven Digimon standing strong. The data of the defeated beast Digimon floated into the air and disappeared. Still in slight shock, the humans didn't move. The Digimon looked back, small smiles appearing on their faces. They stepped forward, soon breaking into runs towards on human.

"Guilmon." Takato smiled as the red dinosaur stopped in front of him.

"Renamon." Rika hugged the yellow fox, surprising sure, but Renamon gladly returned it.

Henry and Suzie each had one of the rabbit Digimon. Henry had the cream and green one, known as Terriermon, while the brown and pink rabbit, known as Lopmon, cried as Suzie hugged her.

Ryo and the dragon Digimon, Cyberdramon, merely shook hands, each knowing the levels of emotion behind it.

Kazu cried as the robot, Guardromon, tried to wipe the water from his body. "I'll rust if you keep crying Kazu." This earned Guardromon a hit and a "Stop ruining the moment you blockhead!" from Kazu.

The purple imp, appropriately named Impmon, looked at Jeri. "Where's Ai and Mako?" Jeri smiled and put her arm around each sibling. When Impmon realised that _both_ of his tamers were standing before him, his eyes watered and threw himself at Ai.

"It's ok Impmon." Ai soothed. "We're here."

"Yeah." Mako smiled, placing a hand on Impmon's back. "And we're never going to leave."

"How are you all back in our world?" Takato asked.

"Guys!" Jeri called before he could get an answer. "The fog's clearing. We should get out of here."

Realising she was right, everyone quickly ran out of the schoolyard and made their way to the park and Guilmon's old hideout.


	3. Tamers Again

"Did he listen to you?" Riley asked Janyu, as he put down the phone.

He shook his head. "He cut me off so I called Suzie. She heard me out."

Tally had brought Janyu a hot cup of tea. Personally, Janyu didn't want the drink but was grateful for the small distraction. "Do you think they'll check it out?"

"I think so. But part of me hopes not." Janyu replied.

"If Digimon are coming back, then the children will have to be involved again." Rai reminded him. "If it weren't for Henry and his friends, the D-Reaper may not been defeated."

"But Digimon shouldn't even be in this world." Janyu sighed. "They don't belong here."

"Stop saying that!" Shibumi snapped. "They have just as much right to be here as we do!"

"They're digital beings." Janyu replied. "They're not flesh and blood."

Shibumi clenched his fists, forcing himself not to lash out. Since he was partly in the Digital World with the Digi-Gnome's, he always felt that the digital beings were just as real as flesh and blood people. "They're just as real as we are."

Janyu turned around and walked away. "No, they are not." He stopped. "They're just data from our old monster program." He then walked out before anyone could say anything.

Daisy and Rai walked to Shibumi and each placed a hand on a shoulder. "What's his problem?" Daisy scowled.

"He can't still be acting out over what happened three years ago, can he?" Babel scoffed.

"That can't be all there is." Rai added. "He always loved all forms of life."

"There's more to it than that." Yamaki sighed. "What he did three years ago still haunts him. But I see what you mean though." The Monster Makers looked at their boss. "Something is not right with him."

* * *

The Tamers had made it to Guilmon's hiding place. They all ran inside as Takato looked behind them to see of they had been followed. Renamon appeared next to him, shook her head and walked inside.

Takato followed the Digimon inside and almost closed the door behind him. He turned back around and faced the eight Digimon and nine humans. They were all getting their breath back from running ten blocks in such a short amount of time.

"I am out of shape." Ryo breathed.

"Were we followed?" Jeri asked.

"I didn't see anyone." Takato answered.

"Nor did I." Renamon agreed. "I do not believe we were followed."

"Well, I'd trust your instincts any day." Rika smiled, glad to see her trusted partner again.

Suzie sat down, legs crossed, in the corner by the door, hiding from sight with Lopmon resting in her legs. "Why are Digimon suddenly appearing?"

"The last time, it was mainly Digimon wanting Tamers to make them stronger." Lopmon remembered. "It was that reason that the Sovereign began sending my former Deva group."

"How are things with the Sovereign anyway?" Henry asked his sister's Digimon.

"In all honesty, I've been too afraid to go back to Zhuqiaomon's palace since the D-Reaper was defeated." Lopmon answered.

"I'm not surprised." Suzie agreed. "He was scary." She shivered. "Zhuqiaomon was the large bird, right?" Lopmon nodded in confirmation and Suzie shivered again.

"Why are you all here anyway?" Henry re-asked Suzie's question, with Terriermon hanging off his shoulder, just like he did when Henry was younger. "It's not that we're not glad to see you here. I certainly am; those Digimon would have killed me. But if you're here, then there must be a reason."

"Also, didn't you have to go back to the Digital World before you degenerated into nothing?" Kazu asked bluntly. Kenta elbowed him for his lack of tact.

"And where's Calumon?" Jeri looked around. "Didn't he come back with you?"

"We can't find him." Guilmon answered, still with his child-like voice. "We lost him when we went back home."

"We were all together when we returned, but when we regained consciousness, he wasn't with us." Guardromon added. "After a day, we all Digivolved to our current forms and looked for him but with no success."

"Could he have returned to the Sovereign?" Kenta wondered.

"It is unlikely." Renamon sighed. "They gave Calumon his own choice whether to be a Digimon or return to his energy state. He chose to be a Digimon and the Sovereign let him stay that way. We came here to see if Calumon had found a way back to the human world."

"Well, we haven't seen anything." Jeri told the Digimon. "I'm sure Calumon would have found at least one of us."

"Do we have to go looking for Calumon again?" Rika sighed. "Once was enough."

"There's no sign of creampuff _anywhere_." Impmon stressed. "Some o' the other Digimon don't even know that humans came to the Digital World."

"And that's something that would be newsworthy." Terriermon said.

Takato looked outside at the sunset. "It's too late to do anything today." He turned back to the large group, all looking at him as he spoke. "For now, let's just go home and wait until tomorrow. Luckily, we don't have school so we can try and do something." He turned to Henry and Suzie. "I know you still have issues with your dad, but if you guys can _somehow_ try to find a way to see if Calumon came to our world three years ago."

Suzie nodded, but Takato noticed the slight tensing in Henry's fists. Terriermon must have felt a twitch because he looked at Henry, concern filling his face. "I'm not promising anything." Henry scowled, leaving the meeting with Suzie following quickly with Lopmon.

"Excuse me, but where am I going?" Guardromon asked his tamer. "Kazu's mom does not like me very much."

"You can stay here with me." Guilmon offered. "It's big enough."

"I need to get Ai and Mako home." Jeri said, walking through the door. "Come on you three."

"Three?" Mako asked.

"She means me as well." Impmon smiled. "Yous gotta get used to me being around."

Jeri left with the twins, Ai holding Impmon's hand. Kazu, Kenta and MarineAngemon followed them out, leaving Takato, Guilmon, Rika, Renamon, Guardromon, Cyberdramon and Ryo.

Ryo turned to Cyberdramon. "Cyberdramon, take the night off and degenerate."

"It's not that easy Ryo." Cyberdramon told his tamer. "I can't just degenerate." Ryo smirked and quickly swiped a card. Cyberdramon looked at his claws as he glowed yellow and shrunk in size. The light faded to reveal a light-purple dinosaur called Monodramon who glared at Ryo. "You could have waited until we got to your house."

"We moved." Ryo told his Digimon. "We live closer to here now."

"Next door to me." Rika moaned. "Come on. Let's go."

Ryo, Renamon and Monodramon followed Rika as she left. Takato looked back at Guilmon and Guardromon. "Ok you two. I'll be back early in the morning with some bread."

"I don't eat bread." Guardromon told Takato.

"I wasn't talking to you." Takato sighed. "Think you can hold out until then?"

Guilmon nodded. "I'll try."

"Ok. See you two tomorrow morning." Takato waved.

* * *

The next morning, everyone went through their morning routines. But each of them forced themselves to remember their Digivices, which they called D-Powers due to the fact that they use cards to power up their Digimon when needed.

Takato walked downstairs and looked in the box of day old bread. He sneakily grabbed a carrier bag and filled it as full as he could.

Just as he reached the door, he was stopped. "Where are you going Takato?"

He turned back to see the stern eyes of his mother. "Nowhere?"

She instantly looked at the bag in his hand. She pointed to the bag. "Is that the day old bread?"

Takato looked down at this hand. He quickly put it down and dug into his pocket. He pulled out his wallet and gave his mother some money. Before she had the chance to say anything, he had rushed out of the bakery and down the street.

He rushed to the park and rushed up the stone steps to the hungry Guilmon. He gave Guilmon the bag and in thirty seconds, the bread was gone.

Takato turned around at the call of his name. He waved at Kazu and Kenta as they walked up the steps. "You guys are here early."

"Well, I'm not going to leave my friend alone for long." Kazu laughed, walking past Takato and waking up his robotic partner. "Wake up."

Guardromon slowly opened his eyes. "Booting…" Kazu sighed. "Online. Kazu, is it morning already?"

"I wouldn't be here otherwise." Kazu answered.

"What the plan for today?" Kenta asked.

"We can't do anything until Henry and Suzie gets here." Takato answered, then grinned at Kazu. "But, I would like to know how your date went last night."

Kazu looked confused for a moment before his face dropped. "I forgot." He whispered. "I can't believe I forgot!" he screamed out.

"Forgot what?" The boys were joined by Rika and Renamon.

"My date." Kazu said, his voice becoming squeaky.

"Date?" Renamon asked.

"It's something humans do when they like someone else and want to start a relationship." Rika explained. "How could you forget your date?"

"Well, I was going to go but between saving Henry and the Digimon coming back, it slipped my mind." Kazu explained.

"We'll forgive you." Rika said. "But I doubt that your date would."

In the next fifteen minutes, all but Henry and Suzie had arrived and Kazu's forgetting incident was brought up each time. By now, he was reduced to sulking in a corner.

"Can we even wait for Henry any longer?" Jeri asked. "Let's at least see if any other Digimon have appeared."

"How are we going to hide Guilmon, Monodramon and Guardromon?" Mako asked. "They're big."

"Well, Ryo, Kazu and I won't patrol the city with you guys." Takato said, acting as if it was obvious.

"So you're leaving the job to me, Jeri, Kenta, Ai and Mako?" Rika clarified.

"You all have small Digimon that can hide well." Takato replied. "And Renamon's stealth speaks for itself."

"If she hasn't lost her touch." Kazu muttered.

"I have not." Renamon stated, startling Kazu out of his corner.

"How did you get so close?" he breathed as Renamon suppressed a smile.

"Come on." Kenta sighed. "Let's go."

So the five humans and three Digimon left as Takato turned to Kazu. "Kazu, do you know where Yumi lives?"

"She mentioned it once." Kazu recalled. "Why?"

"Because Ryo and I are going to help clean up your mess."

* * *

Deciding that Jeri would be better staying with Ai and Mako as she was still their babysitter, Kenta was paired with Rika. Though he would never say so aloud, Rika would have been the last person he wanted to be paired with. They had searched several blocks themselves with Renamon searching higher levels.

"This is pointless." Rika huffed. "This city is too big. A Digimon could be anywhere."

Kenta put away his D-Power. "There's no stray Digimon anywhere."

Rika looked at Kenta and sighed. "Can I tell you something?"

"Sure." Kenta agreed, wondering what Rika could possibly want to tell him.

"I'm scared." She said. Kenta stayed quiet so Rika could tell him on her own terms. "I'm glad Renamon came back. I really am but…"

Kenta nodded. "You're worried that we could lose someone again, aren't you?" Rika looked at Kenta with surprise. "I'm thinking the same. Last time it was Leomon, we almost lost Guilmon when he turned into Megidramon and as far as we knew, we wouldn't see our Digimon again when they returned to the Digital World." Rika listened to every word that Kenta was saying. "As far as I can tell, we should enjoy every minute with them. Whether we're just hanging around with them, or whether we're fighting the evil Digimon of the day."

Rika nodded. "Exactly. And we don't even know where Calumon is."

"We'll find him Rika." Kenta assured her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Just like last time."

"So we're going to the Digital World then?" Rika joked.

"If that's what it takes." Kenta replied, dead serious.

Rika looked at Kenta's set face. "You're serious."

Kenta nodded. "Of course I am. This time, Kazu and I know what we're doing. We're not on the hunt for partners and you and Renamon won't be looking out for us."

"Just don't sing and we'll be fine." Rika smirked.

"No promises." Kenta smiled back.

Rika and Kenta felt the air shift around them, but showed no reaction. Rika still looked at Kenta, maintaining appearances. "Renamon?"

"I cannot find any wild Digimon in the area." She reported from the shadows. "There is no immediate danger."

"Any signs of Calumon?" Kenta questioned the fox Digimon.

"No." she reported. "There isn't any sign of him either."

"Do you have any ideas of what to do?" Rika wondered.

"Unfortunately, I do not." Renamon sighed. "For now, I do suggest that we rendezvous with Jeri, Ai and Mako and see if they have had any success."

Rika raised her eyes slightly at Kenta, indicating his input. He nodded slightly and Rika followed. "Right. Let's do that then."

* * *

"So she lives here?" Ryo asked.

"Yes Ryo." Kazu said patronising him. "Most people live in apartment buildings."

"I know that." Ryo snapped. He pointed to a nameboard. "I meant that we don't have to go searching the entire place to find her."

"Oh." Kazu walked to Ryo and looked at the nameboard himself. "Yep, this is her place."

"So what are you waiting for?" Takato asked. "Knock."

"What?" Kazu exclaimed. "I'm not knocking! You tricked me!"

"Tricked nothing." Ryo told him. "You knew what we were doing coming here."

"Yeah, but I never thought we'd actually be knocking on her door!" Kazu told them.

"Well, we're not knocking on her door." Takato said, pushing Kazu forward. "You are." He finished, knocking on the door himself.

Kazu was stunned by Takato's actions. Since their Digimon followed them to Yumi's apartment, Ryo ushered them around the corner just as the door opened. Kazu froze as a boy older than him answered.

"Can I help you?" the boy asked after a few seconds of silence.

Takato pushed Kazu slightly. "Say something." He whispered.

"Um…" he stuttered. "Is…Yumi in?"

After a few seconds, the boy turned his head. "Yumi! It's for you!"

Kazu gulped as a girl with bright blue eyes and brown hair tied into a ponytail came to the door. The second her eyes saw Kazu, she raised her hand and slapped him across the face. Hard.

"I waited an hour for you." She growled. "Where the hell were you?"

Kazu grunted in pain, trying to form an answer. He slowly placed his hand to his red-turning cheek. "Yumi…" he started.

"Go on then." She folded her arms. "Tell me why you left me waiting for an hour in the cold outside the movie theatre."

Kazu couldn't think of a valid reason that didn't use the words 'Digimon' or 'I was with my friends'. He quickly racked his brain for a reason but couldn't find anything.

"Actually, that was my fault." Takato inputted.

Yumi looked to Takato, her gaze softening slightly. "And why's that?"

Takato sighed. "Because I broke up with my first girlfriend." He let out a breath, letting his eyes water slightly. "As you can expect, it was hard. I told him to go to his date but we quickly realised that he was late and that he forgot to get your number."

Yumi gasped and stood back. Her face flushed slightly. "I knew I forgot something."

"Yumi? What's going on?" the boy from before came back to the door.

"Nothing Tomoaki." Yumi quickly denied. "They're just some school friends."

Tomoaki looked over Kazu and Takato. When he looked back at Kazu, he sighed. "Was he the one who stood you up?" Yumi nodded slightly. "You really should let people explain things first."

"So what happens now?" Kazu gasped.

"You guys have a rain-check and schedule for another night." Tomoaki told them, Takato nodding along. "And this time, if things can't go to plan, Kazu will call either your cell or call here so I can get in touch with you."

"That sounds good." Takato said.

"Why are you here anyway Takato?" Yumi asked.

"Moral support." Takato instantly answered.

"Is anything else?" Yumi asked. Kazu shook his head. "Ok then, we'll talk later."

A crash from inside the apartment made Yumi and Tomoaki flinch. Tomoaki walked back inside as Yumi hastily closed the door. Kazu and Takato stood there, then decided to join Ryo and their Digimon behind the corner.

"Well?" Ryo asked.

"It's sorted." Takato answered. "I think."

"It better be sorted." Kazu said, rubbing his cheek. "That hurt."

* * *

"Our first thing as Tamers and there's nothing to do." Mako moaned.

"Mako, there's more to being a tamer than fighting Digimon." Jeri told him.

"Like what?" Ai asked.

"There's protecting the public for one thing." Impmon answered his co-tamer. "Like when I left yous two to help my friends. I was also protecting the public."

"You never did give me my gun back." Mako said.

"The D-Reaper blew it up." Impmon said quickly. "But I gave it a whole lotta trouble for destroying it."

Mako started laughing at Impmon's behaviour. Impmon suddenly realised that Mako was teasing him and started laughing a little alongside him.

Ai looked down at the D-Power around her neck as it started beeping. She picked it up and a compass suddenly appeared. The arrow spun round several times before settling on a bearing of south-east. Ai turned her face and saw that it was close to her and Mako's house.

"Mako? It's pointing home." Ai said slowly.

"Oh no." Jeri gasped. "Come on." She pulled out her phone and dialled Rika's number. "Rika? Get to Ai and Mako's house! Bring Renamon and Kenta!" she then hung up and called Takato with the same message.

Luckily for the four of them, they didn't have far to run. They stopped when they saw a dense fog with hints of red.

"What's with the red fog?" Impmon asked.

"I don't know." Jeri answered. "Come on, we have to distract the Digimon before the others arrive."

Mako instantly ran inside the fog, with Jeri, Ai and Impmon calling after him. They almost ran into him when they reached an invisible wall.

"There's some kind of forcefield here." Jeri pressed her hand to it. "It feels cold."

Impmon pointed upwards and created a small ball of fire. He flicked the ball forward, then ran his hand over where the ball hit. He smiled slightly. "This ain't a forcefield. It's a wall of really clear ice."

"How do we get through?" Ai asked.

"My fire won't be hot enough to melt this." Impmon told them. "I wish Guilmon were here. He'd be able to melt this quickly enough."

"Why melt when you can go over?" asked a smug voice.

They turned around to see Kenta, Rika and their Digimon. "MarineAngemon? Can you get us over the ice?"

MarineAngemon nodded and squeaked. He flew over to Jeri and the siblings and blew a bubble, which quickly took the shape of a large heart. The heart pushed against them and surrounded them. The same thing happened with Rika, Kenta and Renamon. MarineAngemon flew into the air, with the hearts suddenly lifting through the air and over the wall of ice.

Once on the other side, the hearts popped and they were all overcome with a cold chill. They looked around for any sign of the rogue Digimon. Which was difficult with the snowfall starting to block their vision.

"Is anyone here?" Ai called.

A low rumbling could be heard. The Digimon were instantly ready to attack the enemy and defend the humans. The sound moved all around them. MarineAngemon flew into the air to see if he could see where the sound was coming from.

Renamon grunted and fell to her knees. Rika quickly went to her Digimon. "Renamon, are you ok?"

"Something hit me." Renamon said, standing up again. "Just from the blow, I'd say we're dealing with a champion level."

"With or without weapons?" Impmon questioned, on edge more than Renamon.

"Hard to say." Renamon answered. "It was so quick. If it is a weapon, it's a broad weapon."

A war-cry filled the air as a large figure jumped through the snow. MarineAngemon quickly blew out a heart and shielded his friends.

The large Digimon bounced off the heart and landed on the floor. Kenta held out his D-Power and an image of the Digimon appeared, along with the relevant information. "Hyogamon. Champion Level. It's a virus type and its main attack is Icy Cudgel."

The heart burst as MarineAngemon came back down to the others. "Meanie." He said to Hyogamon.

"Tamers are filth!" Hyogamon said before jumping into the air again.

Renamon quickly jumped up and launched a 'Diamond Storm' to stop the icy Champion. Impmon also threw several fireballs. Hyogamon used the ice club he was carrying to block Renamon's attack, whilst using it to also hit Impmon's fireballs back to him. This caused everyone to split up and run in several directions.

"Mako!" Jeri heard Ai scream.

She turned her head and saw the siblings had run right into a corner. Mako was on the floor whilst Ai was holding her body out as a shield.

"Ai! Mako!" Rika called as Hyogamon noticed the two of them unprotected.

Mako looked up and pushed Ai out of the way as Hyogamon jumped at them. Just as Ai was stumbling, the D-Power around her neck exploded with light.

"Impmon Digivolve to…Sangloupmon!"

Hyogamon was knocked aside with a grunt. Mako looked up at the four-legged Digimon standing in front of him.

"Impmon?" Mako asked, wearily.

The Digimon growled. "I'm Sangloupmon now."

Sangloupmon looked like a large wolf with grey and pale blue fur. Red markings shaped like bat wings rested on its tail and hind legs. Axe blades protected the forefeet along with razor sharp nails on all four feet. Purple bat-like wings also covered Sangloupmon's eyes and created an open collar effect.

"Sangloupmon, champion level virus type." Rika read from her D-Power. "Black mind looks like an interesting move."

Sangloupmon turned to Kenta. "Hey little pink! Get Ai and Mako in those hearts of yours!"

MarineAngemon quickly flew over and put the joint tamers in protective hearts. Sangloupmon then turned to Hyogamon.

"You can come to the human world fair enough." Sangloupmon growled. "But if you _dare_ to threaten _my tamers_ , then you're in a _whole_ lotta trouble!"

Sangloupmon jumped into the air, suddenly disappearing. "Black mind!"

Soon, only balls of data remained. They headed for Hyogamon, who jumped out of the way as the balls of data hit Hyogamon's shadow.

Once Hyogamon landed on the ground, he froze. He looked down at his arms and legs. "I…can't move."

He screamed in pain, and dropped his ice club. Hyogamon looked to Renamon. "Renamon, get the club. I can't hold him for long."

Renamon quickly ran across the space and picked up Hyogamon's ice club and ran in front of Ai and Mako as an extra piece of protection.

Hyogamon grunted and fell to his knees as balls of data emerged from his shadow and reformed into Sangloupmon. Sangloupmon stepped forward. "Sticker blade!"

Sangloupmon's fur stood on end as thousands of shards shot out from his fur and pierced through Hyogamon's data.

The club Renamon was holding disappeared along with its owner. Rika, Kenta and Jeri slowly walked over to join the others. The hearts protecting Ai and Mako popped, releasing them.

"So, how do I look?" Sangloupmon asked his tamers. "With all these blades and my shadow thing, I can't imagine I'm cuddly anymore."

Ai admitted to herself that Sangloupmon scared her but she knew in her heart that it was Impmon inside. "Not as cuddly as I'd like." Ai told him. "But at least you're still Impmon inside."

Sangloupmon lowered his head and nuzzled Ai. "Always."

Mako climbed onto Sangloupmon and rested by his head. "Can you stay like this until we get home?" The fog cleared, revealing that they just happened to be in their backyard. Mako looked around. "Or until I get down?"

Sangloupmon chuckled and carefully laid down. When Mako was off him, he looked to Renamon. "How do I degenerate normally? I've only done it when I lost a lot of power or a lot of Kurisarimon ate away my extra data."

"Just relax." MarineAngemon said, blowing out a blue heart.

The heart burst on Sangloupmon, causing him to glow yellow. He shrunk down back into his rookie form, Impmon.

He looked at his hands. "Dat works too."

"Well, you two better get inside." Jeri told the siblings.

"Ok. Bye." They said, Impmon following them inside.

Kenta and the girls left Ai and Mako's backyard when Takato, Ryo and Kazu ran up the street. When they saw that there was no fog anywhere, they slowed down.

"Where's the Digimon?" Takato asked.

"Gone." Jeri smiled. "Impmon took care of Hyogamon."

"It was a Hyogamon?" Ryo asked.

"What happened?" Kazu asked, resting on Guardromon's shoulders. "How did Impmon beat a tough guy like Hyogamon?"

"He Digivolved into Sangloupmon." Kenta answered. "He looked cool."

"Ai looked a little freaked but I think she's ok." Jeri added. "I hope."

"Come on." Takato said. "I'll treat us all to some Guilmon bread."

They all started walking as Rika's phone started to fill the air with its tone. She looked at the id and sighed. "Mom, I'm a little busy…"

She was cut off by her mother quickly. No-one could hear what was being said, but if Rika's face was anything to go by, it wasn't good. Her face dropped and her eyes began to glisten. Her grip loosened and with her quick reflexes, Renamon grabbed the phone. She put it to her ear as she had seen Rika do. "Hello?" she asked. "Yes. I am Rika's Digimon."

After ten seconds, Renamon's eyes widened. Takato moved forward and slowly took the phone from her.

Whatever had happened, it was bad. Especially if it rendered Renamon unable to handle the situation.

"Hello? Ms. Nonaka?" Takato asked. "Is everything alright?" Takato heard a sniffle and a shaky breath.

"It's Rika's Grandmother."


End file.
